Belief in ESP and the mystical number seven: The role of a population stereotype
Ken Rigby · Australian Psychologist · 1989
In the absence of compelling evidence supporting ESP, it is proposed that attention be directed towards correlates of belief in ESP. Two hundred and nineteen undergraduate students participated fully in an experiment in which attempts were made to send messages in the form of numbers by telepathy. As in a similar experiment reported by Grimmer and White (1986), there was no evidence of ESP, but there were strong preferred responses, especially for the number seven. The present experiment extended the earlier study by showing that believers in ESP were more likely than others to choose that number. The results support the view that believers in ESP are particularly susceptible to influence by stereotypes with mystical connotations.